


Sharing Secrets

by TotidemVerbis



Series: HBO War One Shots And Drabbles [13]
Category: Generation Kill
Genre: Intoxicated Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 20:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13934949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotidemVerbis/pseuds/TotidemVerbis
Summary: It's okay to share secrets with friends, even if the stars are looking at you funny.





	Sharing Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while back and posted it on tumblr, but I forgot to post it here. Which is a shame, because it's one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it!

“Can I tell you a secret?”

Ray’s voice comes out in a slow drawl, words obviously slurred, and he stretches a hand up after asking the question. He’s lying stretched out in Brad’s backyard, because Poke somehow talked the Iceman into throwing a party for…wait, what’s the party for again? Ray wants to say that it’s for someone’s birthday. Possibly a promotion. (Definitely not an engagement party.) Babies! Poke’s wife is having another baby, and Poke wanted the party because he’s going to do the good-husband thing and suffer through months of sobriety with his wife. So the party is for Poke. 

Actually, Ray can hear Poke yelling over the sound of music in Brad’s house. (He’s surprised Brad hasn’t kicked everyone out yet. It’s all good though. If the large gathering of former and current Marines get too carried away, Ray’s going to call the cops and let them bust the party up so that Brad doesn’t have to look like the bad guy. It’s a solid plan.) Ray’s outside though, not inside, and the sand is really itchy but the sky looks cool. 

“Yes, Ray.” The answer comes from Ray’s right, because Ray didn’t come outside alone. Nope, nosiree! Safety in numbers and all that. He’s following the rules of the buddy system. Tonight, Nate’s his buddy. He even helped Ray stumble out Brad’s back door and out onto the beach, and he’s been lying next to Ray without complaining about the itchy sand. 

“I am completely shmammered.” Even as he says it, the stars above him are doing a fun-looking dance. 

“I am well aware of that,” Nate says next to him. Oh yeah, Nate helped him walk outside so he probably picked up on the fact that Ray wasn’t very sober. It’s all Rudy’s fault though! Ray was riding that line between tipsy and drunk like a world-famous tightrope walker before Rudy gave him something to help clean his palette or some such shit, and now everything is starting to look a little swirly. Isn’t it dangerous for stars to move in fast circles like that?

“Can I tell you another secret?” Maybe Ray isn’t looking at stars. Maybe there’s like fifty million meteors coming right at them, and it’s going to be like the dinosaurs. Boom! No, wait, he doesn’t like that idea. Dancing stars are better. (Not Dancing With The Stars. He’d never be caught watching that. Key word: caught.)

“Go ahead, Ray.” Nate doesn’t sound annoyed like some people when Ray talks too much, so Ray raises his other arm in the air and lets them wave all around as he tries to catch the swirly stars. 

“I am totally not straight. Not gay either. I’m riding the bi train.” He snorts out a few laughs as the stars slip out from between his fingers and then explains the joke just in case Nate is drunk enough to be a little slow on the uptake. “Get it? The bi train? All aboard!”

Ray’s so busy making loud choo-choo noises that it takes him a moment to realize that Nate is laughing, like actually laughing, and Ray finally lets his head fall to the side so that he can look over at Nate. Everything is still swirly for a moment, but his sight clears up the longer he watches Nate laugh. His hair’s grown out some, definitely longer than regulation, and there’s sand streaked all throughout his hair because his shoulders are shaking enough to move it around. He can see the tip of Nate’s nose outlined from the light spilling out of the back of Brad’s house, and he can just make out the little bit of color darkening Nate’s cheeks from all the laughing. 

Then Nate has to go and turn his head. For just a moment, it’s like Ray can see the stars swirling again but this time they’re trapped in Nate’s eyes. (Which sounds super gay, but he can be super gay all he wants and the rest of the world can suck it.) Nate’s still smiling as he looks over, little bit of laughter starting to die out, and it’s totally unfair. Drunk people lying in the sand should not look as attractive as Nate Fick does. Just who does he think he is?

“Can I tell you a secret?” Nate asks after the laughter is completely gone. Ray’s still just staring at him, and it takes his alcohol-pickled brain a few extra seconds to realize that he’s reached out. His fingertips are touching Nate’s face, just under his eye, and his skin feels warm. There’s also a little bit of sand on his cheek, but it’s whatever. (Kind of highlights the softness of his skin, Ray absently thinks somewhere in the back of his mind.)

“You can tell your ol’ pal Ray-Ray anything.” When Nate smiles, Ray can feel it under his fingers. Oh shit, when did he start touching Nate’s lips? It’s just a fingertip, but he probably should have asked for permission first. Nate’s not knocking his hand away or yelling, so he must be okay with it. He’s even still smiling. He probably can’t tell Ray his secret with Ray tracing his bottom lip though, so he shifts his hand to touch Nate’s jaw instead. 

“I’m totally not straight too.” He’s still smiling, and Ray can feel his own laughter bubbling in his chest. This is some serious rom-com shit, but he can’t even get annoyed because Nate’s got fuckin’ swirly stars in his eyes and unfairly perfect bone structure. (Yes, he does. If you disagree, Ray will fight you and win. Even while intoxicated.)

“Shit, homes, does this mean we can start going steady?” Nate reaches up to grab Ray’s hand as he starts laughing again, and it’s a good look on him. Their sandy fingers lace together, and Nate moves their entwined hands to rest on the beach in the small space between their bodies. 

“We have to go on at least one date first. I’m not that easy.” Ray nearly chokes on his laughter as he rocks onto his side and presses his overheated face against Nate’s shoulder, and he feels something press against the top of his head. So Nate’s using his head as a pillow? Two can play that game! Ray gets comfortable with his cheek on Nate’s shoulder, and he reaches up with his free hand to start tracing after the moving stars again. 

“It’s a date,” Ray decides and closes his fist around a star.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
